Bush special envoy (James Baker) cashing in on Iraq debt through Carlyle!

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Consortium plans to cash in as Baker asks countries to end £200bn burden

Read the documents: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,1326396,00.html

Naomi Klein
Wednesday October 13, 2004
The Guardian

President Bush's special envoy, James Baker, who has been trying to persuade the world to forgive Iraq's crushing debts, is simultaneously working for a commercial concern that is trying to recover money from Iraq, according to confidential documents.
Mr Baker's Carlyle Group is in a consortium secretly proposing to try to collect $27bn (£15bn) on behalf of Kuwait, one of Iraq's biggest creditors, by using high-level political influence. It claims Mr Baker will not benefit personally, but the consortium could make millions in fees, retainers and commission as a result.

Other countries, including Britain, have been urged by Mr Baker to relieve the new Iraq regime of its $200bn debt burden. Iraq owes Britain approximately $1bn.

One international lawyer described the consortium's scheme as "influence peddling of the crassest kind".

>>>>When George Bush appointed Mr Baker, a former secretary of state, as his unpaid envoy on December 5 2003, he called Mr Baker's job "a noble mission". But Mr Baker is also a senior counsellor and an equity partner with a reported $180m stake in the merchant bank and defence contractor the Carlyle Group.

A fuller version of this article appears on the Nation website http://www.thenation.com

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1326037,00.html

[Carni]

1. UNFREAKING BELIEVABLE!

"Mr Baker's Carlyle Group is in a consortium secretly proposing to try to collect $27bn (£15bn) on behalf of Kuwait, one of Iraq's biggest creditors, by using high-level political influence"

In other words the US taxpayers are being bilked into paying Iraq's debt to Kuwait-hey, maybe they are funneling money through Halliburton and everyone is getting a nice big fat kickback?

This is freaking too much--

[4morewars]

2. Their sleeze knows no bounds !

How does this piece of shit sleep at night ? Don't the ghosts of the thousands he murdered visit him in his sleep ???

[TaleWgnDg]

3. ROFLMAO . . . oops this is serious!

Are the numbers of wriggling masses exposed by numerous over-turned stones ever to cease with these self-righteous, self-indulging radical rightwingnuts?

We, the American taxpayers, are being endlessly brought to the cleaners by these guys! Unreal! And worse -- our young men and women are dying!

GET RID OF EM ALL! VOTE FOR KERRY. . .


on edit: btw, when Baker was appointed by GWBush for this position, I believe Bush side-stepped congressional approval . . . Baker has ALWAYS had multiple conflicts of interest in this matter. Neither can successfully hide it u/ the rug. However, with all that is radical rightwing, they do it in full light, arrogantly, and nothing is done as to sanctions. This, in turn, emboldens them more. So goes the cycles of rightwingnut heightened testings and successes.

[tabasco]

4. I'm shocked ! ................ Not !

The entire Bush cabal is based upon war profiteering.

[DuctapeFatwa]

5. This must be one of those "Iraq Good News Success Stories"

they have been encouraging newspapers to focus on.

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6. .